Chapter 28
Ruby
Ever since my interaction with Atwood in the entryway the day of the auditions, I’ve been pretty certain that he had something to do with Ethan’s accident. That’s why I’m terrified when Atwood says that he’ll “take care of it” after I tell him about what Earl said after play practice.
Despite the fact that Earl said awful things about me and called me a dirty mutt for being a hybrid, I still don’t want to see him get hurt. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt; I didn’t even want Ethan and Donna to be punished beyond something as simple as a suspension from school.
Still, I know that there’s nothing I can do about Atwood’s actions. When I enter the school on the morning after Earl’s outburst, I fully expect there to be some new, horrible thing that “mysteriously” happened to him during the night.
Instead, I’m met with Nancy’s usual smile and hug. The other students mill about in the entryway and at their lockers, looking at their phones and laughing with their friends.
Nancy notices that I look somewhat out of it and pulls away.
“You okay?” she says in a concerned tone, her eyes searching my face. “You’ve got some serious dark circles.” She pulls a small tube of concealer out of her pocket and dabs the makeup around under my eyes, then steps back and smiles.
“Much better.”
“Thanks, Nancy,” I say with a relieved smile when I see Earl walking by with his body looking fully intact with no broken bones.
Nancy chatters about her new boyfriend the whole way to our lockers, but my eyes and mind are plastered on Earl. I can practically envision a big red target on his back, and wonder how long it’ll be before Atwood suddenly swoops in with a sniper rifle and takes him out.
As if on cue, Atwood’s voice booms in my head.
“All students and faculty, this is your King speaking. Please join me in the auditorium immediately for a special announcement.”
Nancy and I make eye contact after the mindlink announcement. She looks just as confused as I do. We both stick our bags in our lockers and make our way toward the auditorium along with all of the other students.
We follow the throng of murmuring students and enter the auditorium. The podium is set up on the stage, but Atwood is not on the stage yet. Nancy and I find seats toward the front, although I’d much rather sit in the back where Atwood’s orange eyes can’t find me.
“I wonder what this is about,” Nancy whispers to me as we sit down.
I have an idea, but I pretend that I don’t know anything and simply shrug in response.
As the students file in, I can see Earl take a seat several rows ahead. Beck follows closely behind him. Before she sits, she turns to look around her and makes eye contact with me. She sticks her tongue out like a child, then sits down.
Once all of the students are seated and whispering amongst themselves, the headmaster waddles out onto the stage and steps up to the podium. The microphone is too high, so he has to pull it down to his level in order for us to hear him.
“Ahem,” the headmaster says, then repeats himself when the students don’t stop talking. “Silence, please.”
The auditorium falls silent, broken only by the occasional sound of someone coughing or moving in the creaky theater seats.
“Thank you for attending,” the headmaster says. “Your King, Lycan Atwood, has graced us with his presence this morning for a special announcement. Please rise.”
We all stand as Atwood walks out onto the stage and steps up to the podium. The headmaster steps down and descends the stairs to go take a seat with the other faculty.
Atwood clears his throat. “Please be seated.” All of the students sit in unison.
“I have a very special announcement today,” he says with a regal smile. “One that I believe may upset some of you, but I also believe that it will be beneficial in the long run for the wellbeing of our beautiful Lycan Kingdom.”
He pauses, his orange eyes scanning the crowd. They rest on me briefly, making my heart race.
“As you all know,” he continues, “the Lycan Kingdom has long since prided itself on our traditions. I, just like the rest of you, place great value on our traditions, and would never wish to overturn anything that has been so precious to us for centuries. Our customs are the lifeblood of the Lycan Kingdom, and this life blood is what keeps us so strong and unified.”
Another pause. My heart races faster and I find myself unwittingly gripping Nancy’s hand.
“However, today, I hope to begin the birth of a new era. I want to start with you all, the youth of our kingdom: our future. From here on out, hybrids will be integrated into the Lycan Academy.”
The students and faculty all begin to murmur and shift uncomfortably in their seats. Around me, I can hear snippets of hushed conversation:
“Hybrids? Why? They’re not smart enough to come here.”
“This is messed up. Why should we have to suffer like this?”
“My parents will send me overseas before letting me attend school with filthy mutts.”
Earl and Beck lean toward one another, whispering something, before slyly looking over their shoulders at me.
Atwood raises his hand for the students to quiet down. “I know this is difficult news for many of you,” he says, raising his voice over the sound of the increasingly agitated students, “but you must understand that we are a kingdom, united as one, and hybrids are a part of this kingdom. I thoroughly believe that hybrids deserve just as much of a right to education as the rest of us.”
“I won’t go to school with mutts!” a student shouts from the back. Others begin to chime in, standing from their seats.
“Yeah! Put them in their own schools!”
“Mutts have no place here!”
The din rises. My grip strengthens on Nancy’s hand, who looks over at me. She squeezes my hand and shoots me a knowing look.
“Silence!”
Atwood’s voice booms over the microphone, creating a sudden hush over the entire auditorium. He grips the sides of the podium angrily.
“From now on, any hate speech or crimes directed at hybrids will result in expulsion from this school and banishment from this kingdom!”
No one says a word.
Atwood’s eyes rest momentarily on Earl, who seems to be shaking in his seat, then on me before he steps down from the podium and storms off the stage.
After several minutes of confused silence, the headmaster climbs back up to the podium.
“You are all dismissed,” he says nervously. “Classes are canceled for the rest of the day.”
Nancy and I leave the auditorium, still holding hands, and return to our lockers to retrieve our things.
“It’ll be okay,” she says quietly, squeezing my shoulder as she shuts her locker. “I’ve known you were a hybrid since the moment I met you, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to be your best friend. Everyone else will come around, too.”
I nod and hug my friend goodbye. As I watch her leave, I catch a glimpse of Atwood and the headmaster hastily making their way up the stairs. Kayne and several other men who I don’t recognize follow behind.
Something in me wants to follow.
Once I’m certain they can’t see me, I jog after them, keeping myself concealed behind corners as they head up the stairs and toward the headmaster’s office. They enter the office, shutting the door behind them. I follow and sneak up to the door, placing my ear on the wood so I can hear better.
“What the hell was that?!” the headmaster’s voice booms.
“You know I have no choice,” Atwood replies. “Times have to change. My own mate is a hybrid. I can’t have her living in fear because her lineage is different from the others.”
“Why now? Why couldn’t it wait until you had at least consulted me properly first?”
There is a pause.
“The Bears,” Atwood says suddenly. “They plan on attacking on the first snow.”
My eyes widen. The Bears? I think I’ve heard of that clan before, but only in history classes. All I know is that they’re strong, and they don’t fear the cold.
“You know as well as I do that hybrids make up a third of our population,” Atwood says in a low voice. “Without a united kingdom, we don’t stand a chance.”
Footsteps come closer to the door, then pause. I dart away and hide around a corner just as the doorknob turns and Atwood and his men exit the headmaster’s office. I can hear Atwood stop and sniff the air.
His voice fills my head as he speaks to me with our mindlink. “I know you’re there, little bird.”
